Politics and Health in the United States

The political arguments related to "re-opening" the United States are focused on the wrong narrative. The reality is that we must shift our thinking from "pandemic" to "endemic" to understand planning for the next phase of COVID-19. In this podcast we define the next three endemic phases of the virus we are faced with, focusing on how we move from "sheltering in" and social distancing to the more sophisticated strategies needed to move people back into their communities and workplaces.

We discuss the origin of different type of viruses like influenza and coronavirus along with strategies that local health agencies can use.  We also discuss what individuals can do to protect themselves and tell what the real evidence says on the use of face masks.

Proposals for "Medicare for All" are currently before both the House and Senate, and are debated by different candidates for the Democratic nomination for President. The "Medicare" in Medicare for All is shorthand for something that is, in fact, different from Medicare. In this podcast, we explore the House and Senate proposals. This potentially wide ranging proposal will reshape the landscape of health care in the United States.  Join us for this overview.

The lawsuit Texas v. United States is one of the most significant challenges to The Affordable Care Act in recent years and could result in a judicial "repeal" of it if it is deemed to be unconstitutional. In this episode we review Texas v US and what is at stake.

In our first episode, we went over the Affordable Care Act, popularly called Obamacare. In this episode we exam three Supreme Court challenges that each impacted the ACA in different ways. The first is the challenge to the Medicaid mandate to states. The second is the Hobby Lobby challenge to contraception under the ACA. Finally, we look at the challenge to premium subsidies under the federal exchanges. Supreme Court appointees going back to the President Reagan administration were in play. Join us in The Politics of Health in the US.

Where to begin? Let's start in the middle with the Affordable Care Act (popularly called Obamacare). If we want to begin to explore the politics of healthcare, then the Affordable Care Act is a great place to start. The 2020 election could be the most pivotal election related to healthcare in recent history. This podcast covers the basics of what the Affordable Care At is.